Chapter 1067 - The Shadow Army
The moment we stepped across the invisible line...
...
The shadow of the past had reacted faster than any of those we had faced in the East, West, or North. Emperor Revenant took a single step... stamping his foot on the floor as if releasing a breath without life or voice.
It wasn't a particularly powerful action. However...
For Sora, Tora-kichi, Nia, and me, it was fine. The noteworthy part was that through that simple movement, not any of us, but...
"Ngh..."
That Sword Queen had instinctively, probably unconsciously, reacted. As if overwhelmed, she stopped her breath and her feet. She reached her fingers into the void as if searching for the blade she could not yet call.
It was a ridiculous amount of pressure released in a single instant. More than being surprised by our own flinching, it was far more startling to see her react that way.
And then, the 'He' who had pinned our feet with that slight gesture...
...
It didn't feel like mockery. It was the manner of a King acting appropriately to fulfill his position. He peered down at us from his rightful height. Despite our physical heights being similar, it was a strange sensation of looking up at him. I had experienced this once before...
"...Hey, doesn't he look more like Ashe than me...?"
"Not... to this extent. I think..."
Coincidentally, it was a similar stage. It was the same kind of charisma the Sword Queen herself had shown when we met on the Four Pillar stage.
While continuing to exude a pressure that truly embodied a King's dignity, the figure clad in 'black'... Emperor Revenant, leisurely raised his right arm.
As if it were meant to be.
"...Eh?"
To everyone's shock, that thing appeared in his hand from the void. It was a simple, yet inevitable manifestation... something I had grown quite accustomed to seeing, or rather, a familiar, plain, yet fantastical appearance.
And Ashe, who had let out a voice that sounded incredibly unlike her, almost silly, was likely the most surprised of all. After all, just a few seconds ago...
"...H-Hey, are you cheating on me?"
Her very own blade, the one she had unconsciously clung to, had appeared in someone else's hand.
[Xultiomart-type Calibur]... even in the virtual world of Arcadia, where so many 'special' and 'lawless' things were permitted, it was an outlier among outliers. It was an unknown existence that fell into the 'Category Error' of all fantasy items.
It was the divine, primordial sword that the world itself had given to the player [Iris] along with the name [Sword Queen]. It was the brilliance that was recognized as the 'strongest' proof in the virtual world, and its edge...
...
The Emperor took it and slammed it into the floor as if it were nothing more than a wooden stick.
In that instant.
No one could react. Or rather, there was probably no time to react. It was as if a loyal subject was serving a royal command... No, it might have been the thing itself.
Following the 'blade,' others appeared.
"...Wait, isn't that a bit too many...?"
"...It's a lot."
"It's at least five times what I expected..."
"..."
"Hiee..."
"..."
Naturally and inevitably, we formed a circle back-to-back. We were surrounded by a shadow army whose numbers I didn't even want to count.
Just like their master who had slammed the sword into the floor, each was covered in 'black' and their features were hidden. But as usual, the pressure from their experience told us the story of their threat.
From each shadow, we felt an almost laughable level of danger.
The Southern Trial... it was based on the Southern Faction of Sotalm, which valued the power generated by the connections between people. Because of that, we had made several predictions. For example, a large-scale unit battle. However...
"It's at least five times what I expected..."
"Stop saying it twice. It just makes the despair worse, you stupid tiger."
A little bit... no, it was quite a bit more than we'd predicted. Their forms, attire, and weapons were varied. The shadow figures filled the area, from the entrance of the labyrinth district to the far ruins of the castle.
"Wait, uh, eh, is this... is this okay?! Is it really okay?!"
"C-Calm down...! Um, uh... c-calm down!!"
"Sora-chan won't tell me it's okay!!!"
I see now why Kendy-dono said this was the 'best way.' If we'd left this panicked girl in the back and gotten separated, it would have been over. If there was no mercy in this Trial, anyone isolated would be swallowed and lost in an instant... and yeah, that was it.
...
The shadows that stood by their King still watched us with faceless gazes. I could sense that they wouldn't show us any mercy.
Ah...
"...Nia, keep your head down and stay curled up."
"Hyah!"
"Kendy-dono, the protection of our master magic crafter is..."
"Leave it to me. I cannot assist you as before, but I can certainly handle her protection."
"Okay, thanks. ...Ashe."
"Mm."
Ah, quite right.
"Sora, form a circular defense with me. Maintain the diagonal and eliminate anyone who gets close."
"...Yes!"
"Tiger, you're on disruption duty. You don't have to kill them, just push them back with all your might."
"Leave it to me. Brutal force is my specialty."
"Nia, wait until your breathing calms down. If you see anything, tell me or Haru."
"Eh...?! Y-Yes!"
"...Kendy. A knight doesn't break his word."
"He does not. If a blade reaches Nia-jou, it will be after I have been ground into dust."
"Mm... Haru."
"Yeah."
Rapid-fire commands. Just as we had smirked at their pressure, they likely read our skill and confidence. In the tiny bit of leeway we were granted...
"I'll leave it to you. Just... do something about this."
"Heh, that's quite an order!"
We just took the reliable instructions from our own King. One versus four to an instant reversal, outnumbered and outgunned... So what? Come at us, you nobodies. Whether our resolve reached them or not...
...
With the silent war cry of the shadow army...
"Raid, start."
I wouldn't say 'probably.' Our Princess, who undoubtedly saw nothing but victory, spoke, and the curtain of the fierce battle was about to be drawn.
It should have been. But...
...
What echoed wasn't the clash of weapons starting the fight, but the sound of the 'blade' striking the floor again. And then...
"Wha?!"
"Whoa?!"
Two men let out dumbfounded cries of shock.
"Hwaeh?!"
"Eh, ah, eh...?"
Two girls let out cute yet bewildered sounds of surprise.
"..."
One Princess remained silent, her face full of suspicion. And then...
"Seriously..."
A tone and voice we had never heard from the knight before.
"...He's a softie as always."
Just a single person had dissipated the painful weight of the 'King.' Amidst the silent battlefield where the army had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed, those words echoed as if mourning the bustle that had failed to arrive.